Improvement in horse hay-forks



A. GORDON.

Horse Hay Fork.

Patented 0m. 9, 1866.

ALEXANDER GORDON, OF

T QFFIOE.

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,635, dated October 9, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEX. GORDON, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horse Hay-Elevators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, a section of the cap O at each end being removed, so as to show the relative arrangement of the working parts of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the body of the instrument, taken in the plane indicated by the red line 0.

Like letters indicate correspoinling parts.

This invention consists, mainly, in an adjustable piercing-point, which is so pivoted to the case and connected to a toothed rack that after the shank has been thrust into the hay the said point may be thrown out at right angles, or nearly so, by the operator by simply drawing a hand-lever up, which is geared to the upper end of the said toothed rack or bar, in which position it is secured by a locking-latch at the top.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

The stock or primary case 13 may be made of malleable iron, and in skeleton form, as shown, the upper end terminating in the handle A.

The point- P may be provided with a steel pivot or axis, a, and it is so titted to the stock that when it is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the instrument presents a smooth unbroken external surface at that end. The teeth are cast with the point P.

The adjusting toothed rack or bar I) is also made of malleable iron, and is cast with a shoulder, t, at the upper end, to catch upon the tooth d of the locking-latch D, which holds the bar in its present. position.

The latch may be cast with the pivot c on each side, and the holes cast in the stock to receive them, if desired, as may also the pivots f of the lever E and their bearings.

The latch is forced in gear or lock with the bar I) by means of the spring 8, which is held in place by the pin 0, cast to the stock.

The lower end of the bar I) is provided with a swell or lip, a, which limits the upward throw by striking the rib in the center of the case, and the downward throw by resting against the body of the segment of the point 1 at 1'.

The cap O is secured to the stock by several screw-bolts.

The draft-rope is attached to the eyelet F on that side of the handle A toward which the point or tine P swings, which causes a more central draft over the hay.

The cord for operating the locking-latch is connected through the eye g.

A spiral spring may be substituted for the spring a, if desired.

This hay fork or elevator is manipulated as follows: The point P is locked in the position shown. The operator grasps the handle A and thrusts the instrument into the hay as deep as desired. He then throws the latch D into the position shown by the dotted lines D, which unlocks the adjustingbar b and raises the hand-lever E to the position of the dotted lines E, thus forcing the point or tine P up, as indicated by the dotted lines P, where it is held by the latch, as before shown, and when the hay is raised to the desired point the latch is unhooked by a slight jerk of the cord attached to it, when the point Pinstant-ly recovers its present position and discharges its lead.

It may be desirable to dispense with the hand-lever, which may be done by opening a slot through the face of the cap O, and attaching a handle or knob to the top of the toothed bar, by which to force it down and throw out the point.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with the point P, the toothed tuljusting-bar I), the hand-lever E, and the locking-latch D, they all operating conjointly in the manner and for the purposes specified.

ALEX. GORDON.

Witnesses:

WM. S. LOUGHBOROUGH, EDWIN S. Corn. 

